L’étoile de Minuit
by bellaedward17
Summary: Bella, Alice, and Rose open a hotel in Paris and end up meeting three amazing chefs in a nearby restaurant. Other characters: Garrett and Eleazer. Canon pairings mostly . All human. Co-authored with EdwardCorvin17.
1. Reconciliation

**A/N: Links to Bella's, Alice's, and Rose's outfits are on my profile, as well as Garrett's amazing car and the song that ****Alice**** chooses on her CD. This was co-written with EdwardCorvin17. :)**

**BPOV**

"Bonjour! Bienvenue à Paris!"

"Garrett!" I squealed in excitement. "Comment allez-vous?" I asked, experimenting with my newly learned French. After six months of a study-intensive course, I could understand the basics of the language that I was now immersing myself in.

"Très bien!" he beamed, just as glad to see me as I was him. "And how are you, ladies?" he asked, addressing my friends Alice Brandon and Rosalie Hale. Garrett and I had grown up as neighbors. We had met Alice and Rosalie when we attended Cornell together. Being two years older than us, he had graduated when we were sophomores. We hadn't seen him since we helped him pack for his move to Paris three years ago to become more involved in the fashion industry.

"Garrett!" they shouted excitedly, running up to him from the baggage claim and throwing their arms around him. They jumped up and down energetically, somehow managing not to snap their three-inch heels off of their shoes.

"Now ladies, I don't want you messing up your gorgeous hair. And Alice, are those new Prada sandals? Très chic! I really must take you all shopping very soon!" Alice's white, green, and black halter dress and Rose's strapless dress made my simple shirt and skirt ensemble seem boring. The one thing in my outfit that Alice had insisted upon were my Prada shoes. "Plain shoes just aren't acceptable," she had dictated.

"Aw, you're so sweet, Garrett!" Rose cooed. "You look quite beautiful yourself," she complimented him with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Why thank you, my dear. Eleazer thinks so, too," he confided. Turning to me, he said, "You all don't want to spend all day in the airport, do you? Wouldn't you like to see your new home in person?"

"Yes!" we all three exclaimed simultaneously. About a year ago, Rose, Alice, and I had decided to put our degrees in business to use by buying a small but exclusive hotel and running it together. With a little help--okay, a lot of help--from our friends and family, we had found a small place in downtown Paris with a great view of the Eiffel Tower.

"You don't drive a Smart Car, do you?" I asked cautiously. I knew the amount of baggage that Alice had packed, as well as how many trunks that she was having shipped over separately.

"No, no, I am firmly attached to my Renault Mégane Coupé, my dear. Oooh, that's something else that you will need to shop for! I am so very excited that you decided to come and live in Paris! We'll have such fun shopping together!" Alice's eyes lit up at the thought of boutiques and brand-name cars. One person should not have so many vices.

I grabbed my two bags and followed Garrett as Rose and Alice found some help with their myriad of Louis Vuittion suitcases. "Careful with that; it costs more than a full day at a spa!" Rose snapped at the poor boy that had offered to help her. I suppose he deserved it, though, for I saw his eyes snap up from her chest to her eyes, then dart away in fear.

"Come along, come along," Garrett called from up ahead. "You have oh so much to do yet today!" We were quite lucky to have a guide, for it would have taken us over an hour just to exit the airport. As it was, we had to weave through the airport for a half hour before finding the exit closest to where Garrett had parked. In the distance, I could see a _very_ busy highway.

"Uh...you can drive well, right?" I asked hesitantly. At that point, I vowed that I would never drive in Paris, perhaps not even in France at all.

"Of course! I am quite careful with my baby, here. I wouldn't do a thing to hurt her," he trailed off, caressing the door of his beautiful car. "Alrighty. Let's see if we can pack everything in here. Merci beaucoup," he said to the boy who had lugged Rose's bags to the car as he passed him some euros for his time. And for putting up with Rose.

"Oh. My. God. You drive _that_?" Alice demanded as she reached the car.

"Mmmhmmm." The smug look on his face said it all. "She's obviously no Chevy, that's for sure," he teased as he looked at me.

"Say what you will, but you ought to have some respect for my truck. It's old enough to be your fancy little car's grandfather," I retorted. I pushed my two bags into the back of the trunk, attempting to make enough space for Alice's and Rose's collection of designer bags. "Shotgun!" I called, running up to the front seat. Ah, the benefits of packing light.

"Could I pretty please dri--," Rose began, only to be cut off mid-verb by Garrett.

"No way! You should acclimate yourself to Parisian driving on something a little less...mine," he informed her. She pouted, but climbed obediently into the back seat with Alice without complaining. As Garrett started the car, Alice leaned up to me and passed me something--a CD.

"Put it in," she whispered. A quick glance at the CD did not reveal its contents; it was pure Alice-made. Warily, I slid it in to the CD slit. A few seconds later, unfamiliar French rock music filled the car. I glanced back at Alice in question. "I thought it was fitting," she shrugged. "Although he is Canadian. And extremely hot..." her voice trailed off as her eyes became unfocused as if daydreaming. Rolling my eyes, I looked out the window.

Twenty minutes later, we had pulled off the autoroute and were pulling into the outskirts of Paris. "Just a few more minutes, ladies, and you will be home," said Garrett. Not five minutes had passed before he spoke again. "Welcome to the seventh arrondissement or the seven district of Paris, home to the Eiffel Tower, as well as casa Alice, Rose, and Bella. Here you go!" Just then, Garrett pulled over and parked in front of our new home.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews are lovely!**


	2. Emmett's Idea

A/N: Twilight isn't ours, and neither is Paris. All the good things are already taken  Anyway, here's chapter two!

EPOV

"What time are we expecting the new owners today? They are coming today, aren't they?" Jasper asked anxiously.

"Yeah, but you know women. They've probably got a dozen bags a piece that they've enslaved some poor fellow to haul for them," Emmett joked, refilling the small refrigerator with bottled water and juices. "It will be our luck, and we'll get stuck with three old biddies, you know. Walkers and everything. Don't get me wrong...I love big boobies, but not when they reach the ankles." He ducked, flinching away from the dishtowel I'd chucked at him.

"Show some respect, young man. Respect your elders. They are providing you with the money you spend on your jeep and your porn, remember. Without these nice ladies, you'd have no masturbatory material or a ride. In simpler terms, you'd lose the two items that you hold nearest and dearest to your enhanced...heart," I teased.

"Yeah...and other places, too," Jasper muttered under his breath.

After a moment of silence, Emmett spoke again. "So...when can we ask them?"

"I don't really think that our first words should be, "Hi, nice to meet you, can we demolish your café?" That's rather abrupt, Emmett." I responded.

"We wouldn't demolish it...per se," Emmett defended. "Just, you know, change it up a bit!" Since getting into the food business, Emmett had always wanted to own his own bar. We figured that we could get a start in the business by working our way up from a small café job. It was good luck for us that a small hotel near where we had just moved into was getting new owners and was looking for new staff. It was quite a convenient location, really, because we had bought an apartment just across the street.

The café was nice, I suppose, but not real unique. Cafés are spattered throughout France like stars in the sky. Everywhere. We figured that we could change it up a bit by making it into a bar, too. Café by day, bar--and maybe even a club--by night. Definitely more fun for the employees, and most likely a good business venture. But how would the new owners see it?

"Yeah, sure, sure. But do you even have a name for it yet?" Jasper asked, ever the realistic one.

"Er...yes! Yes, I have some ideas. How about, "The Bar"?" he suggested.

"The bar?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah! You know, The Bar. Capital letters, of course! It has a ring to it!"

"No, no it doesn't, Emmett," said Jasper, popping Emmett's bubble.

"Fine, then. How about this one: "Stripper Central". If it's going to be a bar, might as well add strippers, too. Make it a well-rounded experience!"

"Oh, yes. Let's make sure all of the kids get real educated while visiting Paris, huh, Emmett?" I asked sarcastically. "Parents will love that."

"Whatever. What are your suggestions?" Emmett asked, clearly out of his own ideas already.

"My suggestion is that, unless asked to provide an idea, you let the women decide. If you had suggested "Stripper Central" to one of them, do you think that your idea would be going anywhere? Do you think that you'd still be employed?" I asked.

"Alright! I'll wait and ask! When will they get here?" he whined again.

"Actually, I think that that might be them right there," Jasper pointed out, looking out the window. Emmett and I rushed over to the window and looked out to see Garrett opening the back door of his car.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please tell us what you think! The next chapter is ready, but it would be great if we could get a few reviews for this chapter before we put chapter 3 up.  I know these chapters are short, but I find it easier to write more shorter chapter than fewer longer chapters when working with another person.


	3. Picking Rooms

A/N: With tears in our eyes, we must still say that we don't own Twilight.

BPOV

I stepped out of the car and looked to my left. The first building that I saw was a small restaurant that I presumed was attached to the hotel. "Mon Cafe" was it's name. What an original name for a cafe. Who would have thought of that name?

Although its name was lacking in creativity, it wasn't ugly by any means. The outside was stone, just like the conjoined hotel. Both were quite quaint. No matter how much I may have been fine with leaving them both as they were, I could tell by the gleam in Alice's eyes that she would be out and redecorating and redesigning them in no time.

The restaurant was two floors tall, and the hotel was five. From the street, I could see that the roof of the hotel was flat, and a garden had been planted there. I sighed, thinking how romantic the hotel would become. If only I had a romantic interest to share it with.

"As you've probably figured out, the building on the left is your cafe or restaurant, whatever you choose to make it into. I just hired three capable--and delicious--men to work there for you. Names are Emmett, Edward, and Jasper, I believe. You'll meet them soon enough. Let me give you a refresher on the hotel itself. Five floors in total, as well as a basement, a garden on the roof, and a pool on the other side of the building. The bottom floor consists of a lobby, library, restrooms, and some storage areas. The middle three floors hold guest rooms, five on each floor. The top floor is yours!" explained Garrett. "Now go on in, I know that you're just dying to see it!"

We rushed into the building, completely abandoning our luggage for the time being. The inside was sparsely decorated, awaiting Alice's Touch. We raced each other up the steps, each wanting to be the first one to get the best bedroom, or the biggest closet, in Alice and Rose's case.

In typical Bella fashion, running up stairs is not the best idea. If fact, running anywhere isn't even a remotely good idea. So, in my haste to run up the third flight of steps, I inevitably tripped, making me be the last one up the steps. By the time I'd reached our floor, Rose and Alice had already claimed rooms. I was stuck with the view across the street. Luckily, I could see the Eiffel Tower, too.

Looking away from the window, I saw what my room actually looked like for the first time. It was a relatively good size, large enough to put a queen or kind sized bed in the middle, a bookshelf along the far wall near the window and a computer desk by the door. The big bay windows were accompanied by a window seat, making my room much cooler by far than my room in my dad's house in Forks.

"Ohmygoodness!!!!!" I heard Rose squeal. "I definitely have the best room! I have an enormous closet, I think I'll actually have enough room to put all my clothes in it! And, I can see the Seine River from my window!"

"No way! My room is so much better!" Alice shouted back. "I have a Jacuzzi tub and a walk-in closet that is to die for!" They continued their arguing, which faded into the background for me. Even though I had gotten last pick of the rooms, etc., I would have chosen this room. It fit me perfectly. It was just the right size, not excessively big nor miniscule. The adjoining closet was just a two-door closet, nothing special. I adored my window seat and bay windows. I could just picture myself curled up in my window seat, with the bay windows opened fully and a spring breeze blowing in. The spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower from my windows completed my daydream perfectly.

I was brought out of my reverie by Alice prancing into my room. "Not too bad, huh, Bella? Anyway, do you want to come with Rose and I to see the rest of the place?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. I'll be right there," I murmured, reluctant to move away from the beautiful view.

"Nu-uh. No way. If I leave you here, you'll never come down and see the other rooms. Doesn't the prospect of sexy French men entice you to leave your room? It's approaching evening, which means we have an excuse to go out to dinner. But first, I'd like to check out the restaurant. Okay with you?"

"Yeah, I'm with you. Lead the way." I followed her out of my room and down the stairs, taking my time now so as not to further injure myself.

Upon reaching the ground floor, Alice said, "Here's the door that connects the hotel and the restaurant, or we could just walk around outside and around. Let's take the shortcut and see if we can sneak up on Garrett! He told me that he was going down to talk with the other guys here." Alice pushed the door open to reveal Garrett in a large room, standing beside three men facing the opposite direction from us.

A/N: Thanks for reading! As I said before, these are pretty short chapters. Hopefully, once we get more into the story and out of the background info, they'll become longer.


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